Integrated circuits are typically designed to operate under nominal power supply characteristics. For example and without limitation, an integrated circuit may be designed to operate at a particular level of performance when powered at a nominal voltage level or over a nominal voltage range.
Integrated circuit manufacturing may produce integrated circuits of the same design having varying levels of performance. Such performance variability may, for example, be caused by any of a number of sources of manufacturing process variability (e.g., automated process variability and/or human variability) or material variability. Manufactured integrated circuits are often tested by applying electrical power that is characterized by nominal power supply characteristics and determining whether the tested integrated circuits perform at or above a minimum acceptable performance level. Manufactured integrated circuits that fail such a test are often discarded, resulting in monetary loss for the designer and/or manufacturer.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.